International Statistics: Search Tips

Finding statistical data between a foreign country and the United States

Look in US government sources first, such as the Statistical Abstract of the United States, or the CIA World Factbook, or USA Trade .

Finding statistical data between foreign countries

Look in United Nations databases first.  For example, if you want to know how many cars were exported to Nigeria from Germany, you would look in UN COMTRADE.

Finding statistical data on a specialised topic

Look for international trade associations, unions, or scientific societies to find specialised data.  For example, if you want to know how many Internet users there are in Belize, you would use the World Telecommunication / ICT Indicators Database from the International Telecommunication Union.

Finding recent data / hard to find data

Some article database vendors such as EbscoHost allow you to preform a search that will show you if there are charts or graphs in an article from the results page, sometimes called Image Quick View.  Search for your topic limiting to recent articles with charts and graphs.  You may find exactly the data you want or find a reference in a chart or graph to a better source for the data.